


Unfinished Business

by max_by_the_gods



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Anal Sex, Bullying, Child Neglect, Divorce, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fix-It, Friends to Lovers, Healing, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hospitalization, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Neglectful Maggie Tozier & Wentworth Tozier, Oral Sex, Physical Abuse, Physical Therapy, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Divorce, Roommates, Search and Rescue, Self-Discovery, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Suicidal Thoughts, Therapy, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:33:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24120628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/max_by_the_gods/pseuds/max_by_the_gods
Summary: "Wait are you serious? I was just telling you my intrusive thoughts. You'll actually help me get him out from there?" Richie felt his heart swell."Well, Pennywise is dead and It was the main thing we had to worry about down there. So I don't see why not?"
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak & Myra Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 14





	Unfinished Business

It's not fair,

tick

he didn't deserve this,

tock

it should have been me,

tick

he's still down there,

tock

we have to go get him,

tick

he wouldn't want to be left down there,

tock

left to die!

tick

Eddie?!

tock

Richie woke up with a start. Clock against the wall making the most irritating noise. Having taken a pit stop on his way back to L.A. he was indulging in the bed at a local motel for the night, as he was exhausted. Unfortunately for him his sleep would not be entirely restful.

If it had been up to him, he would have spent as much time as possible with the other losers. He would never admit it but he was desperately in need of some help. He was already feeling himself slipping. The only thing keeping him from having a relapse was the thought of Eddie telling him how much it would shorten his lifespan and Richie, never saying it out loud but always thinking "that's kind of the point."

Sweat was coming off of him in ungodly amounts, something Eddie would surely find disgusting. The thought alone made Richie's lip wobble.

He needed a shower, that was for certain.

Richie knew this was going to bother him forever. He had hardly gotten used to remembering his repressed homosexuality was first fueled by none other than his childhood friend, Eddie Kaspbrak. And now he's gone. And Richie is furious, devastated, destroyed. There honestly isn't enough words in any dictionary of any language to describe the state he's in at the moment.

How is any of this justice? They killed that son of a bitch, clown but so what? Eddie's never gonna be able to grow old to actually be concerned about his real health problems. Richie was crying. He only hoped the shower muffled some of the noise so his motel neighbors wouldn't hear him.

How was he supposed to move on? He didn't even get a chance to process his feelings, which he had forgotten about. Not to mention the million other things that fucked with his head. Loss of memory, childhood friends and family, where he grew up, all swept under the rug like dust. How does one learn to accept or even move on from that alone?

Richie wouldn't lie, having all his old friends gone didn't help. It wasn't like he could get help from a therapist. The losers were the only people he could talk to about this. It wasn't like he judged them though. They all wanted to go home, get back to their loved ones. Not like Richie had a soul to go back to anyway. He lived alone in a large house with no one to share it with. He didn't know if it was because he truly was insufferable to everyone or if it was the mentality he had about it which kept him from fixing anything about it.

He found himself naked in only a towel. Laying face first on his sheets.

At this point he wondered why he was even going back home. There was nothing to go back to. He obviously had unfinished business back in Derry.

He was now clean and out of tears to cry. He had also decided he wasn't going back to L.A.

~

The drive back to Derry was short, hardly 2 hours away, as he'd been driving to the airport prior.

On his way back he decided the best course of action was to call Mike.

"Richie?"

"Hey, Mikey,"

"What's up? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm-you know what? No, I'm not doing so good Mikey." Richie felt himself frown but this simple confession lifted a momentous weight off his shoulders.

"Do you need to talk about it? You know I'm always here to talk if you need it. The other losers too. Everyone needs to look out for each other, right?"

This made Richie tear up. He'd missed this not only in forgetting but in lacking. He'd never had friends in his life this good and he wasn't going to let them get away after he just remembered them.

"Thanks Mike, but I actually called to tell you... I'm coming back to Derry."

"So soon? You barely left?"

"Yeah, well I don't feel finished, you know?"

"It's okay, Richie. We killed It, It's gone."

"That's not what I really meant, Mike."

There was a long breath over the receiver. "I get it. But damn, you were the one who wanted to get out of here first when you got back, well you and... never mind. "

Richie knew who he was going to say, Eddie. Because on that first night, when they met in the restaurant Eddie had agreed with him and even taken a ride with him back to the town house, to pick up his stuff and leave.

"Yeah, I know Mike, it's just, Derry is where I spent my childhood. I'd like to remember more of the good stuff and not have it out weighed by the bad."

"It's okay, Rich. You need time. I know this is hard for you, if you need to come back I'll trust your decision in doing so."

"Thanks Mike,"

"No problem, Richie"

And with that the call ended.

Richie was relieved to feel so understood but knew that if Mike saw all the fantasies Richie had in his head about digging under the demolished house on Neibolt Street and finding a certain someone to say goodbye to, one last time; Mike definitely wouldn't agree to his arrival.

~

Richie was 30 minutes away and he was thinking about how he had left Derry after their final fight. He had packed his clothes so neatly, he would have made Eddie proud. But the whole time in his head he was trying not to think about what had happened, it hurt too much. And within a couple of hours he'd left Derry and at the same time never even left that damned cave. Too stuck in his own head with the thoughts of what could've happened if he had been more careful, if he'd of moved over a bit, if he hadn't been caught in the Deadlights.

They had told him there was nothing to be helped but Richie didn't believe it. Even if they'd of gone out right after Eddie was hurt, gone for help, there was no way they could get out on time to help him. Richie wasn't even sure there was anything the doctors could medically do to save him. He was hurt pretty bad. Richie didn't like thinking about it but he's already had the same recurring nightmare multiple times and it's only been 24 hours.

Richie knew this was his only option, he could feel his string of fate leading him to it.

And just like that, he was at the entrance of the little town Derry, Maine.

~

Richie got a room back in the same inn they were just hours prior, not the same room however.

He had no idea why he was truly here, just the feeling he needed to be. He knew what he wanted to do but it was irrational and dangerous, especially alone. And he was sure Mike would never help him.

~

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Wait are you serious? I was just telling you my intrusive thoughts. You'll actually help me get him out from there?" Richie felt his heart swell.

"Well, Pennywise is dead and It was the main thing we had to worry about down there. So I don't see why not?"

"Don't we need supplies or something?"

"Well, we didn’t need supplies last time,"

"Fair point but we're essentially crawling under rubble. It might be a little different this time."

"You think I haven't been preparing all these years for every possible circumstance?" To this, Mike started rummaging through some cabinets, in which he kept countless bags. Settling for two large bags he handed one to Richie and started heading for the exit.

"Let's go get him." Mike said before allowing Richie to follow him out the door.

~

They stood at the broken house of Neibolt and with all honestly Richie had no idea how they were going to get through all the rubble and debris of the house, sewer and cave. But he was determined and the thought in the forefront of his mind being, "We have to at least try." And with one shared nod between him and Mike, they got to work.

Picking up the debris of the fallen house gave Richie a lot of time to think.

At the moment he was recalling how they had dealt with Eddie's wife, Myra. She had called the town house they were staying at, after she hadn't had her calls or texts answered for twenty four hours.

They had all agreed the best course of action was to tell Myra that Eddie had gone missing.

It broke their hearts in the way that Eddie's name could be shrouded in mystery and suspicion. But they couldn't very well tell everyone that their friend had died, killing a demon clown in the sewers, could they? She had blamed them for his disappearance and even implied they had something to do with it directly. Myra was most likely on her way, as she had called the Derry authority's right after their phone call with her. They ended up going through a two hour questioning; however, the people of Derry seemed to be so used to ignoring things that they let them go under the hour. Even if Richie wasn't able to keep his calm under investigation and had to leave part way through, luckily the officer's seemed to be sympathetic. No doubt Myra would organize a search party for her "missing" husband.

Richie didn't like Myra, she reminded him of Mrs. K.

Richie had already gotten some rest and a good hot shower as it has been a full twenty four since they left Neibolt and it was now midday the day after. Before Richie and Mike knew it, they'd uncovered the well. Looking down it, Mike had pulled a rope out of the bag around Richie’s shoulder.

“You ready for this?”

“We spent all day digging this shit up, we better not stop now.” Mike let out a light laugh, Richie only gave a bitter smile. Looking closer Richie could see the bags under Mike’s eyes, he wasn't resting easy either. With one final breath Mike threw the rope over the edge. 

Their descent was careful and quiet, with only the small communications between where to land their feet the further they traveled down. As they made it to the bottom, the cold air quickly surrounded them and darkness overtook their vision. Mike pulled a flashlight from his bag prompting Richie to do the same. Leaving the rope they traveled through the swears. Realizing that hardly any of the swear was affected by tumbling debris and rock. It was a bit unsettling so much so that Richie had to comment, “Why is it so empty down here?” Richie questions slightly louder than he had expected, making it echo off the walls of the tunnels. “I’m not entirely sure,” Mike said in a quiet tone, “maybe the collapse only happened in the house and the underground caves?” Mike suggested. “It was obviously flooded after we left.” Richie pointed out, Mike nodded. Their walk consisted of soggy wet footsteps echoing throughout the stone walls that surrounded them. Somewhere in the back of Richie’s mind he could recall a memory of him making jokes about the sounds all their wet feet would make as they traveled throughout the barrens and later on the sewer. Richie couldn’t force himself to smile at what would have been a fond, nostalgic memory because he was reminded that every time he made such jokes they were always countered by none other than Eddie. His eyes stung. He was hit with another memory one far more recent and painful. They were running through these sewers just yesterday morning, trying to escape but finding it much harder to navigate without… Eddie. The tears fell fresh and hot against his cheeks. A small noise was made in the back of his throat but it was enough to alert Mike of his disposition. 

“Rich, you alright?” 

“Shit.” Was Richie’s complete thought.

Upset over how everyone had already seen his soul break yesterday he replied with “Y-yeah, I’m fine. I just need a minute.” Richie attempted to breath in through his nose and out through his mouth as Mike did his best to comfort him by rubbing circles into his shoulder. 

After a moment they were good to walk again. 

Richie was finding it immensely hard to keep moving forward while thinking about the past so he tried to think of the future. His new shows he would be performing at, the deal he was having with Netflix. But all of it just felt so pointless. He didn’t understand why. He hadn’t seen Eddie in over two decades and had only re-connected with him in one night. But he wouldn’t lie, he was drawn to Eddie, he always had been. He had accepted that part, that in childhood, Richie would have done anything for Eddie’s attention and approval. To this point in time, when he came back he wondered if it was just the memories messing with him and how he used to feel. That’s what he had told himself at least. But now Pennywise's influence was gone and Richie met Eddie and saw him as the same old Eddie, just older and more worn, just like him. Richie knew he felt something but like hell, he was going to dig around his feelings for somebody who’s died. Sadness overtakes him, he tries his best to keep moving forward and thinking of the future but without Eddie or the rest of the losers he sees no reason to go on with it, after he’s seen what he’d be missing. He tried to tell himself not to be selfish and to appreciate what he does have wealth, mild fame, and now the best friends in the world. That the other losers were also suffering, not only with the loss of Eddie but Stanley as well. Oh, God. Stan. Stan the Man. Richie could feel his heart vibrate in his chest, as if it was a vase filled with bees about to shatter trying to escape. 

~ 

A long, emotional trip through unexpectedly open sewers led them to the first place they had fought It. The area surrounded once by the belongings of It’s victim’s was drowned out, as they had found it the last time they went down down here. Some large rocks had fallen from the high ceiling to the water below and on the land surrounding it. 

They swam their way through the disgusting water to reach the ancient cistern which was once full of great fear and mystery but now only held sadness and anger for past events. They pried the top off. It looked like the inside was unaffected by the flooding the sewer had experienced just recently. Richie felt his nerves flare up with involuntary intrusive thoughts. “What if he’s alive?” “What if we can still save him?” Richie shook his head. He knew it wasn't good for him, entertaining unrealistic hopes. With the end of those thoughts more realistic ones began to invade his head. “What if his body is gone or crushed?” He physically flinched and felt nauseous at the notion. “How difficult will it be to carry him out of here?” Richie thought that without the imminent threat of the clown it shouldn’t be too hard to make it out of here before tomorrow's day break. The stench of the water made him think of something far more devastating to come across. “How decomposed would a body become after 24 hours?” He swallowed as he realized he was about to find out. 

He knew tears were leaking from his eyes and that he was red faced from the irritation of rubbing at his skin to wipe away tears but at this point he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Mike also knew not to bother with him, as he’d been like this on and off the entire time they’d been down here. He’d probably come to the assumption that it was just Richie’s way of healing and this was therapeutic to him. 

“Well, this is it,” Mike spoke up. 

“Yeah… I, I just wanted to thank you Mike. I feel like… I really feel like seeing him one last time, without having to run for our lives, would really help, you know?” Richie gave a watery smile. 

“I know Rich, to be honest, I feel the same way. I want to give him a proper resting place and I’ll do everything I can to complete that. I don’t think I’ll honestly be able to put this behind me until I at least try.” Mike put his hand on Richie’s shoulder. 

“Me too… I think,” Richie sniffed “this is what he would have wanted.” Richie gave Mike a wobbly smile. 

“What? Us going through nasty sewer water?” Mike let out a small chuckle. Richie could only find it in himself to give a small smile in return. 

“No, to give him a resting place.” Richie answered, “Then let’s give him a resting place.” And with that Mike released his shoulder and they started crawling down. Richie went down first, despite being in a deep state of grief he was filled with nervous energy. The narrow hole was easy to crawl down because it was closed in space. Going down Richie was hit with another wave of cold air and realized the sewer was not as cold as he thought. Reaching the bottom in no time, they adjusted their equipment that they had to hold above their heads awkwardly on the way down. Holding out their flashlights they surveyed the pathways in front of them. The original path they had taken was now completely covered in rock and they knew they would have to travel in through a different opening. “Okay, how about we start here?” Mike suggested pointing to the left opening. Richie nodded, saying “Yeah, I think that’ll work.” Only a moment passed as they started for the left, when Richie jumped suddenly, stating “Wait a second.” “What?” Mike said, with nervous energy and waited patiently for Richie to say or do something or for just anything to happen. 

“I just… felt something,” Richie responded.

“What do you mean?” Mike said with confusion evident in his voice. “Did a rock fall on you or…” 

“What? No, no it wasn't really physical, it was more like a feeling but it was really strong.” 

Mike interpreted Richie part way through the end of his sentence. “Really Rich, you scared the shit out of me, for a second I thought It was… never mind.” Mike looked away.

“I’m sorry Mike but it’s not just a feeling it’s like it’s… here.” Richie said turning to the right sided entry. 

“Richie, what are you doing?” 

“I’m not sure why but I feel like the fastest way is over there.” Richie said, pointing with his flashlight to the right cavern. 

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I just do. Can we…” Richie didn’t even have to finish for Mike to understand. He nodded in agreement. 

Richie knew that Mike had done a lot of spiritual training over the years to find new ways to defeat It. Maybe that’s what was happening to Richie right now, maybe he was experiencing the pull of fate he had before, the string leading him to where he was meant to go. 

They made their way through the right cavern. The darkness consumed them, only through the beams of light in their hands could they see. They had to walk around many large rocks and even boulders, parts of the ceiling that had collapsed in. They even had to dig their way through some of the path, lucky Mike had procured shovels from his pre-packed bags. They came to a couple points that looked like dead ends but Richie had led them through where he thought was the right way with his “intuition.” They were both a bit hesitant to use Richie’s new “sense of direction” but when they came across their first supposed “dead end” Richie had instructed them to dig straight through and a short dig behind coarse rock had been the rest of the path. So apparently there was some merit behind Richie’s new impulses. However after about an hour and a half of digging through rock and walking around the cavern, they began to tire. “Should we take,” Mike took a breath, “a break for a second?” Richie looked to Mike nodding with “Yeah, Okay.” They both sat atop large stones facing one another. Mike pulls out two water bottles, handing one to Richie. They both took hardy swigs of their waters, clearly parched from the day's work.

“What do you think the others would say if they knew we were down here right now?” Richie piped up, his throat scratchy and dry. He takes another drink, waiting for Mike to respond. 

“Depends who would know?”

“Hmm, how about Bev?”

“Oh, she would probably scold us for doing something dangerous but in the end I think she would understand why we’re doing this.”

“Yeah, she was always like that. Okay, what about Ben?”

“Ben would offer to come down here with us if he knew what we were doing. We could use the help too. He could… do the heavy lifting.” Mike looked away for a moment out of respect. 

“... Bill?” Richie questioned.

“He would probably help out too but I think he would be more pessimistic about it.” 

“Like how?” Richie asked, a little bit of anger creeping in his voice.

“He would probably say… we would have a small chance of finding him down here.” Mike let out a breath through his nose. Richie stood up letting out a sharp breath and began pacing.

“Was this a bad idea, do you think this is gonna do more harm than good?” Richie asked quietly, still pacing. 

“Do you want my complete and honest opinion, Rich?”

Richie stopped pacing, “Yes.”

“The chances that we’re gonna find Eddie… intact down here, are slim.” Mike adjusted his seating and closed his eyes. Richie tried not to visualize it but a part of him told himself he should expect the very worst. The thing was, Richie couldn’t decide if seeing Eddie's mutilated body would be worse than not finding Eddie at all. But he had to accept one thing Eddie was gone. 

“Hello?!” It was a little muffled but clear as day. Mike stood up, Richie turned to the cave entrance, covered in rock, they had been digging at. Where the voice had sounded like it was coming from. 

“Did you just hear that?” Mike questioned.

“Yeah, but I think we’re going crazy.” 

“Is someone down here?!” They both jumped but there was no mistaking it, the voice was on the other side of the blocked off entryway. And it was yelling at them. 


End file.
